Joliet Man Found Guilty In '97 Slaying

Defendant Labeled Mastermind In Case

A Will County Circuit Court jury on Wednesday found a 25-year-old Joliet man guilty of murdering a 32-year-old woman during an assault in a Lockport Township drug house three years ago.

Jermaine Norris faces a sentence of 20 years to life in prison as a result of the conviction for his role in the Jan. 29, 1997, slaying of Mary Jannine Tanner.

Tanner's body was found gagged and bound with duct tape in the 200 block of North Avenue in Lockport Township, where Norris and two other men allegedly also bound another woman and three men staying at the home. The throats of the men allegedly were slit by the three, who, according to prosecutors, were looking for a man who allegedly fingered Norris in a drug bust earlier that year.

Norris is the only one of the three men who was brought to trial in connection with Tanner's killing and with attempting to kill the four others.

In addition to murder, the jury, which deliberated for about two hours late Wednesday, also found Norris guilty on three counts of attempted murder, one count of armed robbery and one count of home invasion stemming from the assault. He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 28 by Will County Circuit Judge Herman Haase.

During closing arguments in Norris' trial earlier Wednesday, Will County Assistant State's Atty. Steve Nate told the jury that even though Norris contended that one of his accomplices carried out the murder and attempted murders, it was Norris who "masterminded the whole crime."

Norris "is the one who brought (the accomplices) to the house," Nate told jurors. "He's the one who brought two guns, Mace, handcuffs and duct tape to the house. And he's the one who stood there watching his accomplices carry out his orders as all these people were having their throats cut one by one."

Nate pointed out to the jury that under the Illinois accountability law, a person who contributes to the commission of a crime is just as guilty of that crime as the person who actually commits it.

"He's legally responsible for what happened that day," Nate said. "He's the one who said they (the victims) have to go. He's the one who showed his accomplices how he wanted their throats slashed."

Norris' defense attorney, public defender Marzell Richardson, however, argued that prosecutors had not proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Richardson also contended that those who testified against Norris couldn't be trusted because they were motivated by self-interest, including Loronzo Payton, 25, of Joliet, who allegedly was one of the participants in the home invasion.

"Loronzo lied (in his testimony) to avoid having to serve 20 years to life in prison," Richardson said.

But Assistant State's Atty. John Flaherty argued in rebuttal that to conclude Norris was merely a unwitting participant in the assault was "ludicrous."

"He intended for this to happen the moment he left his house with duct tape," Flaherty said.